A Time For Us
by SunLight1
Summary: Future literati: Due to a cruel twist of fate, Rory and Jess were separated. Now, so many years later, will they get a second chance at being together?
1. Facing Reality

Disclaimer: I own nothing to due with Gilmore Girls (the most super awesome show on TV!!) except for the plot of this story : ) The title came from the love theme from _Romeo and Juliet_, if you haven't ever heard the song, I suggest you check it out - it's really pretty!

A Time For Us

_"A time when dreams so long denied, can flourish_

_As we unveil the love we not must hide . . ._"

Chapter One: Facing Reality

            ** _The wind lifted up her long hair and tossed it playfully.  The bright sun seemed dull compared to the warm radiance in her smile._

_            He stared at her.  Content with the world that now made sense.  The rest of the world stopped and time suspended around the two of them . . . for the moment they were together.  And he would live for the moment. . ._**

*****

            "Jess, I don't think this is going to work out."

            Jess Mariano stared helplessly at the girl in front of him.  He had expected this really . . . it had only been a matter of time.  It was all his fault their relationship hadn't worked out , and yet he knew if he had the chance to do it over again, nothing would change.

            The girl in front of his was every man's dream woman.  She was beautiful and athletic, funny and smart, sweet and kind.  They had dated for over a year now, and that was long enough for him to realize what a treasure she was.  But he couldn't make himself love her.  As incredible as she may have been, she did have one fault.

            She wasn't Rory Gilmore.

            Jess sighed, "Alyssa . . ."

            "No, Jess. I've tried to make this work, I really have.  I mean I think you're wonderful and I care about you so much.  But the more time that passes, the more obvious it becomes that you don't care about me the way I care about you.  When we first started dating, I knew you were still getting over someone else, but I had no idea that you would never be able to let go.  What we're doing isn't fair to me, Jess.  I'm falling in love with you, and the longer we stay together, the harder it will be for me to leave."

            "I'm sorry, Alyssa, I never meant to hurt you."  

            And he hadn't.  When Jess had first met Alyssa, he had been captivated by her smile and her sense of humor.  For the first time in what seemed like forever, he had felt like maybe he would be able to go on with his life.  He had tried so hard to put the past behind him, and he thought that maybe Alyssa would be the girl to help him finally succeed.  He had been wrong.  He wasn't ready to move on, and he was starting to come to the painful reality that maybe he never would be.

            "Good Bye, Jess," Alyssa kissed him softly on the lips, and walked away from him, forever.

            Jess felt nothing.

            Alone again, Jess looked around his apartment for something to occupy his thoughts.  Standing up, he began mindlessly walking.  He didn't have a destination in mind, but he knew where he would end up.

            Walking into his room, he opened the drawer, and pulled out an old picture, torn and discolored from age and being handled so often.  At the sight of him and Rory, so young and so happy, the tears began to flow freely.  He would never get over losing her . . .never.  Honestly, he didn't really want to.  

            Rory Gilmore had been a the most incredible person he had never known.  She had been a jewel in a world that was so quickly turning to nothing but stones.  It was so unfair that she had been taken out of it . . . so young, when she had had so much too offer.

            His eyes returned back to the two of them.  The picture had been taken just a week before it had happened.  They had spent the whole day together, because that evening Rory had to return to Cambridge for the summer session at Harvard, and he had to return to his apartment in New York.

            She had been flying to New York when the plane had crashed.  He still blamed himself for what had happened.  She hadn't been planning on coming, he had called her up at the last minute and asked her to come.  He had been planning on proposing. . .

            He could still hear Luke's devastated voice on the phone . . .

            ** "_Plane crashed . . . no survivors . . ."_ **

            It had been more than he could handle.  In that moment, everything worth living for had been taken away from him.  He had packed up, and left . . . never to be seen again.

*****

            "Rory, will you marry me?"

            Rory Gilmore stared down at the hopeful look in Hayden Clarke's eyes.  The question had come out of nowhere, and she was shocked beyond belief.  She abruptly sat down in the chair next to Hayden's, and stared at her shoes in disbelief.  Suddenly it was as if everything important in her entire past was passing before her eyes, and it had very little to do with the man sitting next to her.

            "Rory? Rory, are you alright?"

            Rory looked up at Hayden with sadness in her eyes.  The full realization of what she had done to him overwhelmed her, and she was suddenly filled with guilt.  Hayden was such a wonderful guy.  He was so great to her, and she really did care about him.  They had dated for nearly two years now, and she had never once given him the indication that anything was wrong.  Of course he was proposing to her . . . Rory knew he loved her, and she had led him to believe that she loved him as well.  Rory had been trying to convince the herself that she really had moved on . . . and in the process she had convinced everyone around her.  She had hurt so many people in the process of dealing with her grief.

            It had gone far enough.  She wouldn't continue to hurt innocent people.

            "Hayden, I'm sorry . . . I can't marry you."

            Rory felt her heart sink at the crushed look in Hayden's eyes, "But why, Rory?  If we both love each other, why shouldn't we get married?"

            She took a deep breath, "Because I don't love you."

            "What?" Hayden looked devastated.

            "Hayden, I've been awful to you these past few years.  I never meant to hurt you, I swear.  And I really do care about you, but . . . well, you knew that I was dealing with a lot of issues when I first starting seeing you.  I guess, I guess I just never got over all of those issues.  Hayden, you're an amazing person, and someday you'll make some woman very happen.  But that woman isn't me. . .  You deserve better," she whispered quietly, "I'm so sorry I hurt you.  I honestly didn't even realize what I was doing until a few minutes ago."

            "Rory . . . please, don't do this," Hayden looked at her with pleading eyes.

            "I'm sorry, I just can't . . ."

            Hayden stood up, blinking, trying to hide the tears that Rory knew were about to fall.  He kissed her deeply, and then walked quietly out of her apartment.

            Alone, Rory started to cry. "Oh God, what have I become?" she whispered, her voice filled with anguish.  The last few years suddenly seemed so empty.  What had she done?  

            Standing up, she wandered into her bedroom.  She quietly made her way to her overflowing bookshelf.  In the far corner, she pulled out an old, worn copy of_ Oliver Twist_.  Opening it to the middle, she pulled out a small picture.  Seeing her and Jess . . . so young and so happy, her tears began to fall freely.  She made her way over to her bed and collapsed.  She curled up in a ball and let all the pain she had been storing for nearly two years come crumbling out.

            Once her tears had subsided, she sat back up, and looked down at the picture once more.  It had been taken only a week before the crash.  She could still remember the phone call . . .

            ** _"Rory, can you come up to New York, I have to talk to you?"_

_               "Jess, can't you talk to me over the phone?   I have a big paper I need to finish before Monday?"_

_               "Please, Rory, I really need to see you in person, there's something I need to ask you."_

_              "Alright, alright, I'll fly up."_ **

            Rory never would have agreed, but in her heart she knew that Jess was going to ask her to marry him.  It was the question she had been dreaming about for so long . . . She couldn't take the chance of missing her opportunity.  She had been so girlishly excited when she had boarded the airplane . . . Only, she never made it to New York.

             The crash had been horrific.  A nightmare that she would never forget.  The screams, the fire, the panic, the dull pain disappearing as she had slid into unconsciousness.

            The original report had been no survivors . . . but they had been wrong.  There was one survivor. . . Lorelai Leigh Gilmore.  

            After weeks of being in the hospital, Rory became conscious enough to tell the doctors who she was and where she came from.  Less than a few hours later, her room had been filled with family and friends.  Practically the entire Stars Hollow population had shown up to welcome Rory back from the dead.  Rory had been shocked at how awful her mother had looked.  She was so thankful she hadn't died . . . she would have hated for her Mother to have to live like that. . .

            Rory's mind fast forwarded to a few hours later.  To that fateful conversation between she and her Mother, after everyone had left . . .

            **_ "Mom, Where's Jess?  Why isn't he here?"_

_              "Oh, honey . . . When Jess found out about the crash . . . he was so devastated that he . . ."_

_              "That he what, Mom?"  Rory was slowly beginning to panic.  The tone in her mother's voice was scaring her._

_              "He left Rory . . . nobody knows where he is"_

_              "He what?"  Rory's voice had sounded so small._

_              "Hey relax, sweetie, we'll find him.  Right now all that matters is that you're alive and okay."_ **

            Rory remembered how hopeless Lorelai had sounded when she had promised Rory that they would be able to find Jess.  Rory later found out why.  As it turned out, they had already spent the past month searching for Jess in every way possible, to no avail.  

            Rory still hadn't given up hope.  She had devoted over a year of her life to finding the man she loved.  When it became clear that Jess was gone for good, Rory was devastated beyond belief.  She moved to Cambridge permanently to finish school.  She basically cut off all ties to her Mother, Luke, Stars Hollow, or anything else that had reminded her of Jess.  

            And then she had tried to move on with her life.  Now, so many years later, she came to the painful conclusion that she would never be able to move on with her life . . . not without Jess.

A/N - Well what do you guys think?  Just a little idea I had that I decided to throw out there.  I most likely won't continue If I don't see enough interest.  Oh well, Anyway I just want to wish everyone a HaPpY HoLiDaYs! Bye ya'll!!


	2. Taking Action

Chapter Two: Taking Action

            ** _He stood . . . dangerous and handsome.  A mystery to everyone, but her.  She alone understood him.  She alone held the keys to his heart.  She alone could reveal the magic only he could offer._

_            A slight smirk played on his lips when he caught her staring at him.  Her heart inevitably beat faster.  And when her eyes met his, contentment rushed through her.  She succumbed to the feelings in her heart, never once thinking it wouldn't last . . ._**

*****

            Lorelai Gilmore hurried to answer the front door. "Kirk, for the last time - I don't need you to water the trees . . . Rory?" she said in shock, staring at her daughter.

            "Hey Mom," Rory said, almost nervously.  She briefly wondered how she could have let things get like this between her and her Mother.  They used to be so close . . . and they would be again.  Rory was determined to make things right.

            "Oh, sweetie, I'm so glad you're here!" Lorelai pulled her daughter into a fierce embrace.  Rory hugged her Mother back, and then followed her into the living room.  The two took a seat on the couch.

            "Honey, is everything alright?"

            "Yes, why wouldn't it be?"

            "Sweetie, this is the first time I've even seen you in almost five months.  It's been weeks since I've spoken to you, and then here you are, on my doorstep.  It would seem like something might be wrong."

            "Well, actually, I guess something is wrong.  The way I've been acting.  It was totally wrong of me to cut everybody off, especially when I needed them most.  I want to try and get things back to the way they were . . . back before, well you know."

            "Oh Rory," Lorelai's eyes were misty when she once again embraced her daughter, "I missed you, babe."

            "I'm so sorry, Mom."

            "Rory, it's okay.  I can only imagine what you were dealing with when you left.  What happened to you wasn't fair.  I just wish you hadn't decided to deal with it on you own."

            "At the time, that's what seemed best.  But now, I know better. . ."

            "Are you finally ready to truly move on?" Lorelai asked her daughter, anxious to hear her answer.

            "Well actually," Rory paused, deciding she wasn't quite ready to tell her Mother her plan.  Instead she said, "Hayden asked me to marry him."

            "Oh my God. . . I had no idea you two were that serious.  Sweetie that's wonderful!"

            "Well, actually, I didn't realize we were that serious either," Rory admitted regretfully, "I told him no, Mom.  We broke up."

            "Rory . . . how are you ever going to be happy again if you can't let go of what happened, move on.  Jess is gone, Rory, it's time you accepted that," Lorelai said harshly.  She didn't want to upset her daughter, but she was desperate to make her understand.  They had tried everything to find Jess Mariano, but apparently he just didn't want to be found.  It was time she move on.

            "Mom, I can't.  How can I move on when I know that the man I love, the one person that truly makes me happy, is out there . . . _somewhere_.  I'll never be able to move on as long as I still have hope of finding him."

            "How, Rory, how?  You've already tried everything.  How do you propose to search for him?"  Lorelai was not in the least happy that her daughter was going to begin searching for Jess again.  That alone showed that even after all this time, she still hadn't even began moving on.

            Rory nervously chewed her lip.  She knew her Mother wasn't going to like her plan.  But that didn't change anything, she was still going to go through with it.  "Mom, you're right.  I've tried everything.  If Jess was in this country, I would have found him . . ."

            "What are you saying?"

            "I don't think Jess is in America.  I'm going to go to Europe and search there."

            Lorelai's mouth fell open.  Her smart, level headed daughter had done the impossible.  She had surpassed even her own Mother's insanity.

            "Rory, you can't possibly . . . what I mean is . . . crazy . . .what are you thinking . . . no you can't," Lorelai was setting records for incoherence. 

            "Mom, yes, I can.  Once you calm down and think about this, you'll understand that this is something I have to do.  Besides, I've always wanted to travel abroad anyway."

            "Rory!  You're 26!  You can't just go to Europe.  You don't know anyone there.  There won't be anyone for you to stay with, anyone to help you in your search!"

            "Well, actually, an old, er, friend of mine from Chilton.  Well, he's currently working at one of his father's business firms in London.  I was going to go there first, to see if he could help me."

            Lorelai could tell by the determined gleam in her daughter's eye that nothing she said would talk her out of this.  "Just think about it first, Rory.  Really think.  Get a good night's sleep and . . ."she trailed off when she saw Rory shaking her head.

            "Mom, my flight to London leaves tonight," she whispered quietly.

            "Oh Rory . . ."

            "I have to do this Mom . . . please understand."

            "I understand, honey.  I may not like it, but I understand."

*****

_Several hours later, in a small little apartment, above a small little diner. . ._

            Luke Danes was surprised to hear a knock on the door.  _'Who the hell could that be,_" he thought, making his way to the door.  He swung open the door in an impatient manner, and felt his knees buckle at the sight in front of him.  He was so incredibly shocked he couldn't even speak.

            "Hey Uncle Luke," Jess said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

            "Jess?  Oh God, it can't be . . . I'm losing it," Luke muttered, abruptly shutting the door in his nephew's face.  However, even after he had shut the door, he continued to stand there, staring at it.  _'It couldn't be. . . it just couldn't be . . .' _  

            Jess continued to pound on the door.  "C'mon Luke, let me in."

            Luke cautiously reopened the door, blinking his eyes rapidly, as if trying to make sure they were functioning properly.  Apparently they were, though, because no matter how hard it was to believe, Jess Mariano, his long lost nephew was still standing right in front of him

            The two stood there, staring at each other uncomfortably, until Jess broke the silence, "So, uh, do you think I could come in?"

            "What, oh sure, come on," Luke said, moving out of the way.  He returned back to the sofa and sat down.  Jess took a seat in the recliner across from him.

            "So, how have you been?" Jess asked.

            "Don't even try the small talk with me!  Jess, where the hell have you been?  Do you have ANY idea the hell you put us all through.  What we went through to try and find you?  How upset everyone was when we realized you were gone for good?  What the hell were you thinking?" Luke was just getting warmed up when Jess interrupted him.

            "I know, Uncle Luke.  I was wrong.  After . . . it . . . happened, I just couldn't handle it.  I had to get away.  I was so devastated . . . I just couldn't deal with everyone.  I needed to be alone.  I never meant to stay away permanently.  It's just . . . the longer I was gone, the harder it was to come back.  And eventually . . . I guess I just decided I would never come back.  It was just too hard.  I loved her so much . . ." Jess stopped when he heard his voice break.  This was harder than he had been expecting.

            Luke stared at his nephew, slowing forgiving him for what he had done.  It had been wrong, yes, but he hadn't meant to hurt anyone.  Luke suddenly realized that he had to tell Jess . . . had to tell Jess that Rory was still alive.  He didn't have a clue how to do it.  How do you tell someone that the girl he had been mourning for four years, was actually still alive and well?  He decided to stall for a while.

            "But you're back now.  What made you change your mind?"

            "Well I did a lot of thinking.  These past years have been really hard.  I had actually thought I was doing better . . . but a few days ago I realized that I hadn't moved on at all.  I decided that it was time to come home.  Dealing with my problems alone obviously wasn't working . . . so, here I am."

            Luke nodded.  He took a deep breath, "Jess after you left, we tried really hard to find you."

            "You mentioned that."

            "Yeah, well, there was a pretty big reason we needed to find you, actually."

            "And that reason would be?" Jess asked when Luke didn't continue.

            "Jess . . . the plane crash.  Well, the original report was that there was no survivors, but . . ."

            "Yeah?" Jess asked, wondering what on earth his Uncle was going on about.  He didn't really want to talk about the crash.

            "Jess, it was wrong.  Rory didn't die.  She survived.  She was in the hospital a few weeks before she woke up, and by the time she had, and we were all informed that she was alive, well you were long gone.  She tried everything to find you . . . but you . . . we just . . . she lives in Cambridge now.  We don't hear much from her. . ." Luke watched as his nephew's face slowly lit up with the realization of what Luke was telling him. 

            Jess was shaking his head, "No . . . you're telling me . . . you're telling me that Rory . . . Rory's still alive?"

            Luke slowing nodded his head.

            "And I . . . oh God, I've spent the past years . . . oh no," Jess buried his face in his hands.  He still couldn't believe it.  How could he?  He had spent the past four years thinking she was dead, and then boom! She's suddenly alive again?  And if he hadn't ran away, then they could have been together all this time . . . Guilt and regret was overriding him when he looked back up at his Uncle.  Luke's own eyes were filled with emotion as they met Jess's.  

            "Jess, I . . ."

            "Luke, I have to go," Jess said quickly, jumping up.

            "Jess, I think you need some time to digest this.  And don't even think about running over to Lorelai's place.  The poor woman has dealt with enough lately.  The last thing she needs is -" Luke was cut off by the sound of the door slamming.  He sighed, wondering where all this was going to lead . . .

            Jess threw open the door to the diner and started running toward the Gilmore house.  He couldn't believe what his Uncle had said was true.  He had to talk to Lorelai . . . had to find out if this was some sort of sick joke. . .  And if it wasn't?  Well, then he had to find Rory.

            Little did he know that at that very moment, Rory was already halfway to London.

A/N : alright, so not the best chapter.  It was basically a transitional chapter, and the next ones should be a little more exciting, I hope.  I'm afraid that our favorite couple has quite an adventure ahead of them before they can be reunited and live happily ever after *grins wickedly* Haha, well I have a basic idea of where this story is headed, but if you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know.  Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter : ) and please continue to review if ya don't mind!  Bye everybody : )


	3. Right Behind You

Chapter Three

            ** _It was her graduation day.  To everyone else, she seemed sweet and demure, ever modest over her accomplishments.  He could see past that, though, to the glint of pride and determination in her clear eyes.  She was now one step closer to achieving her dreams.  She had a goal in life, and nothing would stop her._

_            He stood to the side, letting her bask in the glory that she deserved.  Admiring her beauty, inside and out, yet again.  For the moment, he was content just to call her "his_"**    

*****

            "Rory?!" Lorelai called, running to the door for the second time that day.  It was much later in the evening, and Rory had left several hours ago for the airport.  Lorelai quickly opened the door, wishing with all her heart that she would see her daughter there, that she had come to her senses and returned home, where she belonged.  

            Lorelai opened the door, and felt her hopes fall when she realized it wasn't Rory after all.  It was a handsome young man, who looked like he was in his upper twenties.  He was dressed nicely, and he seemed incredibly familiar.  Lorelai narrowed her eyes, trying to place the man, and suddenly felt like someone had punched her in the gut, as realization finally kicked in.  She immediately closed the door.

            "Lorelai!" Jess called from outside the door.  He patiently waited, knowing that in a few minutes she would come to her senses and let him in.  He almost smiled, as the situation seemed so similar to back when he was a teenager.  Lorelai had hated him back then.  It wouldn't have surprised him at all if she would have slammed a door in his face.  His thoughts quickly darkened though, the past saddening him.  Things had been so simple back then.

            The door slowly reopened, and he soon found himself staring face to face with Lorelai Gilmore, who surprisingly had tears in her eyes.  He had never seen Lorelai cry, and he honestly didn't like it.

            "Man," he said, trying to lighten the mood, "Why do people keep doing that?"

            "What do you mean?" she asked, blinking to clear her eyes.

            "Luke slammed the door in my face, too."

            "Good," she said, but then after a few moments smiled, "You deserved it."

            "I know," he consented.

            "Well, I guess you should come in," she said, rather reluctantly.

            "So are you back to hating me, then?" he asked with a smirk, following her into the living room.

            "What are you talking about kid, I never liked you."

            Jess smiled, relieved that the old Lorelai was back.  "My mistake."

            "God Jess," she sighed suddenly, running her hands through her hair, "Where have you been?  What are you doing here?"

            "Where have I been?  I've been in a small town in Florida, hiding from my life.  Why am I here?  I'm here in Stars Hollow because I recently realized that hiding from my problems wasn't the way to solve them, and I needed to come back and face my past.  I'm here in your house because I needed to find out if it's true," he answered softly, with a meaningful look in Lorelai's direction after the last statement.

            Lorelai stared at Jess, knowing that he wanted to know if Rory was really still alive.  She suddenly felt angry.  God, what he had put them all through by running away like that!  What he had put Rory through . . .  because of _him_, her daughter hardly ever even spoke to her, hardly ever even -

            "When was this taken?"  Jess asked suddenly, breaking into Lorelai's thoughts.  He was holding up a picture of Rory and Hayden Clarke, the man she had just broken up with.  Lorelai had only met Hayden once, about a year ago when she had driven to Cambridge to see Rory, because Rory refused to come see her.  She had taken the picture then.

            "A year ago," she said softly.

            "So it's true," he answered, his voice strained.  Rory was still alive, and she had apparently moved on.  How could be blame her?  It had been four years, after all.  It still hurt like hell to see her with another man.

            "He asked her to marry him, you know," Lorelai said, still angry.

            "Is that so?" Jess said, turning away.  But not before Lorelai saw the anguish in his eyes.  She suddenly felt bad for being so harsh to him.  She reluctantly allowed herself to see his side of the story.  He had thought Rory was dead.  She remembered only too well how she had behaved for that brief period of time when _she_ had thought her daughter was dead.   She had cut herself off from everybody.  Hell, she had considered running away herself.  She shook her head, slowing forgiving him.  At least he was finally back now.

            "Jess," she said softly.

            "Yeah," he said, still not looking at her.

            "She said no, and broke things off with him.  She couldn't marry another man when she was still in love with you.  After he asked her, well, she made up her mind to start searching for you again.  She- Oh God."

            "What?" Jess said, looking back at Lorelai.

            "Where's the phone, we have to call her, now!"

            "Wait, no!  I'm not ready, I need some -"

            "Jess you don't understand . . . God, why can't I ever find the phone?!"

            "Because you never clean up!" he exclaimed irritably,"Why do we have to call her now?"

            "Oh God, and she was just here!  Talk about shitty timing!"

            "What do you mean she was just here?  I thought she lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts?  Luke said you don't hear from her much."

            "Yeah, thanks to -" she was about to say 'you' but quickly changed her mind, "She just came home today.  She said she wanted to try and fix things, get them back to the way they used to be.  She also told me she was going to start looking for you again."

            "Okay, but I still don't understand why -"

            "Aha! The phone!" Lorelai exclaimed, pulling the phone out from beneath a couch pillow and rapidly dialing.

            "Lorelai, where is Rory," Jess asked, suddenly smelling a rat.

            "On her way to London."

******

            Rory opened the door to the cab and quickly climbed inside.  "Are there any hotels around here?" she asked.

            "Depends what kind of budget you're on," the cabbie said.  Rory had to smile at his thick British accent.

            She chewed her lip thoughtfully, contemplating.  She really would only need a hotel for one night, if her friend came through.  She was praying he would, because if not, she wasn't sure what she would do.  "Money's not an issue," she said, making her decision.

            "Alright then."  And then they were off.

            Rory fell back in her seat, more than just a little tired.  It would have been 2 in the morning back home, but it was only 8:00 in London because of the time difference.  She couldn't wait to get some sleep.  She was too tired to even pay attention to all of the amazing sites on the London streets.  Under other circumstances, her head would have been hanging out the window.

            "How does this look?"  The man asked, pulling up to a nice looking hotel.

            "This will be fine, thank-you."  She quickly paid the man and headed in side.

            Little less than 15 minutes later, Rory opened the door to her room and collapsed on the bed.  She suddenly sat up, remember her promise to call her Mother when she got in.  She dug around in her bag in an attempt to find her cell phone.  After several minutes with no luck, she sat back thinking.  She had packed it, right?  Wait, no she hadn't.  She sighed, remembering that she had put it on the charger in her old room before she had left.  It was still sitting there.

            Muttering to herself, she walked over to the phone in her room.  After several minutes of reading the surprisingly confusing instructions, she finally figured out how to use it.  She dialed the familiar number, and sat down on the bed when she heard it ring.  After several rings the answering machine picked up, she sighed, and left a message.  '_Oh well_,' she thought.  It was 2 a.m. in the morning, after all.  She hadn't really expected an answer.  Rory lay back on her bed, and without bothering to take off her clothes or makeup, quickly fell asleep.

*****

            Lorelai, Luke, and Jess all entered the dark Gilmore house.  It was probably around 2:30 in the morning, but none of them had any hope of sleep.  They had all been in the diner all night, talking about this and that over numerous cups of coffee, and trying Rory's cell every five minutes.  Eventually Lorelai had remembered that she had told Rory to call and check in when she had arrived in London, and there was probably a message on the machine.  She had told Luke and Jess she would call if there was, but they had both insisted on coming home with her to see for themselves.

            Sure enough, when they entered the living room, the light was blinking on the machine.  Lorelai glanced at the two men, took a breath and pressed the button.

            "Hi, Mom?  It's me.  Sorry I called so late but with the time difference and all, and well you did say to call you.  Anyway I got here safe, obviously.  Oh yeah, don't bother calling my cell phone.  I left it in my old room on the charger.  I would give you the number to the hotel, but I'm only planning on being here for one night.  I'll probably have already checked out by the time you wake up and get this message.  I'll check in eventually.  It might be a while, though, I'm not sure what I'll be doing in the near future.  Oh well, bye Mom, Love You."  BEEP, and the room fell silent.

            Jess was in a state of shock.  At the sound of her voice, the fullness of what he had discovered that day hit him hard.  

            "God," he whispered hoarsely, "She really is still alive."

            Luke and Lorelai looked at him.  "It's not that I didn't believe you," he whispered, "It's just wow . . . when I heard her voice I guess I finally comprehended it."

            "Hey, it's okay," Lorelai said, "You spent the past four years thinking she was dead.  The idea of her being alive is going to take some getting used to."

            Jess nodded, but there was new feeling were suddenly rushing through him.  Rory,_ his _Rory, was still alive!  The wish he had dreamed about ever since he had received that phone call so many years ago, had finally come true.  He suddenly felt like the luckiest man on the earth.  Rory had come back to him.  Well, not quite, he realized with a frown.

            "Well, this is just great," Lorelai was saying, "We now have no way of knowing of to contact her!"

            "She's all alone in England, for God's sakes, Lorelai, what were you thinking, how could you let her go?" Luke said irritably.

            "How could I let her go?  How could I stop her?  She's 26, not 16.  I can't tell her what to do!"

            "Guys!" Jess said, interrupting their argument, "I have to go."

            "Go? Go where," Luke asked impatiently.

            "To Europe."

A/N: Well guys I had planned on putting a lot more in this chapter, unfortunately it started to get way too long, so I had to break it up.  Which, unfortunately means that all of the more interesting stuff will be in the next chapter.  Oh well, hope this one didn't stink too much : ) Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you're feedback is really helpful.

Also, in response to what one reviewer said, about Rory's survival being all over the news?  Well, I hadn't thought about it, but I'm sure you're exactly right.  Oh well, I guess we'll just say that Jess was so devastated after the crash that he didn't watch any TV, listen to the radio, or read the newspaper for a few months.  Sound too crazy?  It probably is, but then again, I'm crazy, so what can I say : )


	4. High Hopes

Chapter Four: One Step Behind

            ** _This scent of summer floated in the air, promising of the coming warmth.  The world was busy and bustling, and so very alive.  In a small, secret corner or the earth, two young lovers enjoyed the coming season quietly, and privately._

_            It would be their last day together for a time.  Both leaving the next day, to begin their lives in what has so often been called, the real world.  Both parted with a smile on their lips, already dreaming of when they would next meet_.**

*****

            "Let's see, who do we have here . . .  Lorelai Gil - Rory?" The attractive young man said.  He looked up in astonishment.

            "Hello to you too, Tristan," Rory said with a nervous smile.  It had been a very, very long time since she had seen Tristan DuGrey.  They had known each other at Chiton, although they had never exactly been friends.  Then, in their junior year Tristan had been sent off to military school.  The only other time she had seen him was when he had shown up at the Chilton graduation.  She could only hope he wouldn't turn her away now.

            "Rory?  God, I can't believe it's you!" he greeted warmly, standing and pulling her into a fierce embrace.

            Rory returned the hug, feeling her nerves subside a bit at his friendly welcome.  He pulled back, still smiling, and motioned for her to take a seat.

            "So what are you doing here?" he asked, "Visiting the city?  I'm really glad you stopped by."

            Rory smiled, wondering whether or not now was the time to tell Tristan exactly why she was there.  "Well," she began, "Coming to Europe was just something I needed to do."  She was being evasive, and Tristan noticed.  He frowned slightly, but didn't comment.

            "How are you, Rory?" he asked, suddenly serious.  

            "What? Oh, I'm fine."

            "No, really.  I, uh, heard about the accident when it happened a few years ago.  I wanted to come see you, but I had just finished up school and started working here in Dad's London firm.  Things were just really crazy.  I wasn't sure if you would want me there anyway."

            Rory smiled, "It's okay.  Things were really crazy then for me, too.  I went through some pretty rough times after the crash, but I think I'm finally doing better."

            Tristan bit his lip, thinking about how to phrase his next question.  "I kept in touch with Paris for a few years after graduation.  I don't really talk to her these days, but . . . well, she was the one who called and told me about the crash.  She also, uh, told me about your boyfriend."  Tristan winced at the flash of pain he suddenly saw in Rory's eyes.  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up.  Let's talk about something different.  How long are you going to be in the city?"

            Rory shook her head.  "No, it's okay.  We're going to have to talk about him eventually . . . that's actually why I'm here.  It just surprised me when you already knew.  I didn't know you had spoken to Paris . . .I mean, she never mentioned anything to me."

            "Rory? What are you talking about?  Are you okay?"

            "How much time do you have?  This could take a while, and I don't want to bother you if your busy."

            "I have as much time as you need.  Don't worry.  Now tell me, what's going on?"

            Rory took a deep breath, and started at the beginning.  She told Tristan everything, right from Jess's disappearance, to her original searches, her failed attempts to move on with her life, and her new resolution to find him.

             "So, I decided to search in Europe.  The problem is that I don't know anyone in Europe.  And so I -" she broke off, hoping Tristan would figure out what she was asking of him.

            Tristan slowly nodded, "That's some story.  I honestly figured the guy would eventually show back up again when Paris first told me about it.  You do realize that there is the possibility that something could have happened to -"

            Rory vehemently shook her head, "He's still alive.  I know it."

            Tristan nodded, "Well, in that case, I guess the only thing you can do is keep looking.  I'll help you in any way I can, Rory."

            Rory looked at him gratefully, "You don't know what this means to me, Tristan, I- "

            She was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.  Both she and Tristan looked over to see the door swing open and another man come walking in.  This man was young, probably around Rory and Tristan's age, and strikingly handsome.  He had light brown hair, and piercing green eyes.  Although, despite his killer looks, Rory suddenly felt cold at the sight of him.

            "Tristan, my man, what do we have here?"

            Tristan fought to keep the disgust off his face.  Nicholas King was the son of one his fathers longest and most trusted friends.  William King, Nick's Dad, had done business with Tristan's father for as long as he could remember.  So, when Mr. King had asked Mr. DuGrey to give his son a position at the business firm, Mr. DuGrey had been pleased to oblige.  However, no matter how nice William King might be, his son was a asshole.  Tristan only tolerated him because he had to, as his father refused to listen to the negative complaints concerning Nick.  Not only was he a slick bastard, Tristan was almost positive he was somehow involved with the file discrepancies that were suddenly appearing in the business.  Still, he had no way to prove it, so he kept his mouth shut.

            "Nick, I'd like you to meet my old friend Rory Gilmore.  We went to school together back in the states.  Rory, this is Nicholas King, he also works at the firm."

            Rory noticed Tristan's hard tone of voice, but still pasted a smile on her face and turned to Nick.  "It's nice to meet you."

            Nick's lips curved upwards into a smooth smile, "It's _very_ nice to meet you."  He bent down and kissed the top of her hand.  Rory felt her cheeks flush as his eyes freely roamed over her body as he stood back up.  She glanced back at Tristan for help.

            "What can I help you with, Nick.  I'm a little busy here."

            Nick smirked, "I just wanted to let you know that the Prescott deal closed this morning.  Oh, and your wife called.  Well, I won't keep you.  It was nice meeting you Rory . . .  I certainly hope our paths cross again."  With a meaningful look in Rory's direction, the man left the room, shutting the door behind him.

            "Sorry about him, he's a creep.  If it wasn't for his father, he wouldn't be here, believe me."

            "It's alright, I can handle it.  So, wife, huh?  How come I haven't heard about this yet?  It seems like that when the 'player' Tristan DuGrey actually settled down it should have made international news," she teased lightly.

            "Yeah well, I grew up a lot after high school, thank God.  Here's a picture of my family," he said, showing her the frame proudly, "That's my wife, Jacquelyn, and that's our little girl, Madison."

            Rory stared at Tristan's beautiful family.  All happy, and smiling.  The picture was so full of love.  She suddenly felt tears spring into her eyes . . . God, how may times had she dreamed of her and Jess having a family like this?  By now, she was sure they would have, it hadn't been for the damn plane crash.  Life just wasn't fair . . .

            "Rory, what's the matter?" Tristan asked softly, already knowing the answer.

            "Nothing," she said softly, smiling, "Your family is beautiful.  I can't wait to meet them . . .?" Rory said, shooting Tristan a glance.

            Tristan laughed, "I figured you'd need a place to stay.  Don't worry, Jackie won't mind a bit.  She's actually pregnant with our second baby, right now.  She'd love the company.  And Rory, I have to be honest with you, you might be here for a while.  Looking for Jess could take a long time."

            "I know, and I'm prepared for that, no matter what.  I really can't thank you enough for doing this for me."

            "Don't mention it.  That's what friends are for.  Let me just call Jacquelyn and let her know you're coming, then I can give you directions and you can catch a cab.  I'm afraid I won't be able to get off work for another few hours, so you should probably just go on over."

            Rory smiled, feeling happy.  She had taken her first major steps down the path that she could only hope would lead her to Jess.

*****

            Jess glanced around at the busy airport and then back down at the little slip of paper in his hands.  He stared at the number written on it and sighed.  As much as he hated the idea of doing it, he knew he had to call that number.  Otherwise, going to Europe would be pointless; he wouldn't have a clue as to where to even _begin_ looking for Rory.  He made his way over to the payphone, and quickly dialed the number before he could change his mind.  A woman answered, and Jess gave her the name of the person he wished to speak to.

            "Just a moment, please," the woman said.

            Jess waited uncomfortably.   A lot of things may have changed over the years, but his people skills wasn't one of them.  He hadn't been considered overly friendly ten years ago, and he sure as hell wouldn't be considered friendly now.

            "Hello, Paris Gellar speaking, make it quick."

            "Uh, hello Paris? My name is Jess Mariano -" he began to introduce himself but was soon cut off.

            "Jess Mariano . . . Jess . . . Mariano . . . sounds familiar, but no, I don't believe I know you.  Who is this?" Paris asked irritably.

            "My name is Jess Mariano," he tried again, "I am or was or I don't know . . .  I used to date Rory Gilmore.  Do you remember her?"

            "Of course I remember her.  Are you the one who pulled the Houdini act after the plane crash?"

            Jess sighed, "That would be me."

            "So you finally decided to pull your ass up out of whatever hole you've been hiding in for the past four years?  How nice.  I'm sure Rory must be thrilled, but honestly I don't have time for -"

            "Paris!" Jess snapped in frustration, "Rory's not thrilled, because -"

            "Oh really?  So she really was serious about that guy she was dating.  Surprising, really.  I honestly just thought she was dating him to get over you.  Well, good for her.  If you think that by calling me that I'll put in a good word for you, you're mistaken.  I think it's great that Rory didn't waste four years of her life over you.  Besides, it's not like she'd listen to what I had to say anyway, she never did- "

            "Paris!" Jess said again, suddenly feeling like banging his head against a wall.  This woman was impossible.  "Rory's not thrilled because she doesn't know.  Just as I came back, she was going to Europe.  Apparently she was going to search for me over there or something -"

            "Europe?  Is she crazy?  What -"

            "As I was saying," Jess cut back in, any semblance of patience long gone, "We can't get a hold of her, so I'm going over there to find her.  The reason I'm calling you is that Rory said she was going to try and get the help of an old Chilton friend.  She said he was working in his father's business firm in London.  Do you know who that is?"

            "Well, well, she must have meant Tristan DuGrey.  That's the only person I know of whose working at a business firm in London," she said.  Jess could almost see her twisted smile over the phone.

            "Great," he muttered.  He hadn't even thought about Tristan DuGrey in almost 10 years, but he still remembered Rory's high school graduation.  The creep couldn't keep his eyes off her back then.  He certainly hoped things had changed over the years.

            "Yeah, I can't say I've seen Tristan recently, but unless he was horribly disfigured in some sort freak accident, I'm sure he's still as attractive as he was in high school -"

            "Paris?  May I ask what I ever did to you to make you clearly dislike me so intensely?"

            "You hurt Rory.  I know you didn't mean to, and believe it or not I understand what you must have been going through.  But Rory's life fell apart when she realized that she'd lost you.  I personally think it's foolish to be so controlled by a man, but to her, you were everything.  She went through a lot of pain."

            "And that matters to you?" Jess asked, trying to fight the regret that was suddenly threatening to engulf him.

            "Of course it matters to me.  Rory is one of the few people I've ever actually considered a friend in my entire life.  I didn't like seeing her hurt."

            '_Huh_,' Jess mused to himself, '_Maybe Paris isn't such a bitch after all_.'

            He suddenly heard his flight being announced over the intercom.  "Well, my flight's about to leave.  Thanks for the information," Jess said.

            "Bring her home, Jess."

            "I will."

*****

            Rory stepped out of the large business building and headed to where her cab was already waiting on the side of the street.  She was incredibly thrilled over how wonderful everything had went with Tristan, and she was looking forward to meeting his family.  Just as she was about to get into her cab, she heard someone calling her name.  She turned around to see Nicholas King, the man she had met earlier, running towards her.

            "Yes?" she asked, politely.  The man gave her the creeps, but she didn't want him to realize she was uncomfortable around him.

            "I was wondering, since you're new in London, if you might give me the honor of escorting you to dinner this evening, showing you around city, perchance?"  He asked, smoothly.

            Rory looked into his clear green eyes.  They were so emotionless, so cold.  Nick seemed like a perfect gentleman, but there was just something about him.  Rory couldn't put her finger on it, but it nonetheless turned her off.  Even is she hadn't been in love with someone else, she still never would have even considered going out with this man.

            "I'm sorry, Nicholas, but I'm very tired.  I think I'm just going to stay in tonight."

            "Some other time, then?"

            "No, I don't think so."

            Rory thought she saw a flash of raw anger in Nick's eyes, but just as quickly as she had seen it, it was gone.  They were back to their intent, unreadable stare.  Rory figured she must have imagined it.

            "Well, I certainly hope you'll be successful in whatever you came to London to do.  Be careful, though, a big city like this wasn't made for pretty little ladies who are all alone."

            "I think I have it covered," Rory said icily.  If she didn't know better, she would think that Nicholas was threatening her.  

            "Very well, once again, it was nice meeting you."  With that he turned and disappeared back into the office building.

            Rory stared after him, surprised by the rapid beating of her heart.  Something about that man had made her incredible uneasy.  '_Oh well, he's gone now.  I most likely won't ever see him again_,' she thought to herself.

            She suddenly realized that she had made the poor cab driver wait for way too long.  She quickly opened the door and got in.  She gave the driver directions to Tristan's house and tried to get comfortable.  Yet for some reason, every time she closed her eyes, she was haunted by the same confusing image.  

            A flash of anger in a pair of clear green eyes . . .  

A/N: So what did you think?  Reviews are always appreciated.  

Also, I'd like to thank the reviewer who gave me the idea of giving Tristan a wife.  I decided Rory really did need to know someone in Europe, and I wanted it to be a character everyone was familiar with.  Tristan seemed like the best bet, but while I think Tristan is great, this is a literati all the way, so giving him a wife seemed perfect! : )


	5. Cruel Irony

Chapter Five: Cruel Irony

            *_*She stood, her eyes closed, yet still twitching with excitement and anticipation.  A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, and a light burst of laughter escaped her.  Her happiness and laughter was contagious, and he soon found himself smiling in turn._

_            When given the signal, her eyes flew open, widening at the sight before her.  The softly lit candles, the gently scented roses, the romantic light from the stars shining above . . .  She turned to him, tears in her eyes.  Nobody could make her feel the way he did.*_*

*****

            Rory climbed out of the cab and took in the great townhouse that stood before her.  She had been expecting Tristan's home to be impressive, and she wasn't disappointed.  Located on a prestigious street in downtown London, Tristan's was but one of many grand and dignified homes.  Rory was curious about what it would look like on the inside and quickly hurried up to the front door.  However, just when she was about to knock, she paused, suddenly nervous.  She had, after all, never met Tristan's wife before.  What if the woman didn't want a stranger living in her home?  Rory didn't want to impose on anyone.  She stood there on the doorstep, shivering, until finally the cold got the better of her.  She decided she was being silly, because she was going to have to knock eventually anyway.  She didn't have any other options.

            She quickly rapt on the door and let her hands fall to her sides.  Her heart began to hammer as she waited for the door to open.  She wondered what Tristan's wife would be like.  The picture she had seen earlier had indicated that the woman was blonde and attractive, but had given no hints as to her personality.  Rory's thoughts were interrupted when the door suddenly swung open.  One look at the woman in front of her and Rory's worries immediately vanished.  The woman was young with pale, clear skin, bright gray eyes, and pale blonde hair that curled about her slender shoulders.  It was obvious that she was a petite woman, although her stomach was currently swollen, due to her pregnancy.  However, it wasn't the lady's appearance that set Rory at ease. It was the aura of warmth and kindness that seemed to radiate from her.

            "Are you Rory?" she asked in a melodic voice, with a slight British accent.

            "Yes, I am," Rory answered, suddenly smiling.

            " Hi, I'm Jacqueline, Tristan's wife.  Please, come in," she said, stepping back, and motioning for Rory to come inside.

            Rory walked into the spacious entrance and turned to Jacqueline with a slight awed expression.  "You're home is beautiful," she whispered.

            Jacqueline laughed, "Thank you.  It's was actually built in the 19th century.  It's been in Tristan's family for quite some time.  We had it restored several years ago, right before we were married."

            "Really?" Rory asked, her eyes sparkling, "This house must be full of so much history . . ."

            "You'd be surprised," Jacqueline said, "When I first moved in I was completely mystified by it.  I actually did a lot of research on it's history.  I could show it to you sometime, if you like."

            "I'd love that!" Rory said, thrilled that she and Jacqueline obviously shared some common interests.  Rory hated to admit it, but deep down she had almost been expecting Tristan's wife to be stuck up, or snobbish.  Jacqueline was anything but.  Rory could easily see herself getting to be very good friends with the woman.

            "You're on, then.  Well, Rory, why don't you take off your coat and we can put your things in your room.  Then we can get too know each other some more.  I must say, I'm thrilled to finally meet you," Jacqueline said, her eyes suddenly sparkling.  She took Rory's coat and hung it in a closet by the door and then led her up an impressive staircase.

            Rory raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

            Jacqueline laughed, "Actually when I first met Tristan, he had sworn that he had already given his love to another woman."

            Rory groaned, knowing exactly where this was headed.

            "I soon believed there was very little that the great Rory Gilmore couldn't do.  However, I quickly won Tristan over with my own fabulous charm and wit," she said with a mischievous smile.  "Even after though, it sort of became a joke between us.  Like say, I would burn the toast in the mornings, he would make a comment like, 'I bet Rory wouldn't have burned the toast,' or something like that."

            Jacqueline glanced over at Rory and suddenly burst into laughter at her horrified expression.  "We were only teasing each other, though," she said between giggles.

            "I don't know what Tristan told you, but I am far from perfect, believe me.  And as far as the toast goes, you're right, I probably wouldn't have burnt it . . . I would have disintegrated it and burnt the entire house down."

            Jacqueline giggled, "You don't cook much, I take it?"

            "Cook? What does that mean?"  Rory returned with a grin.

            Jacqueline laughed and opened the door to a room at the end of the upstairs hallway.  "Here's where you'll be staying," she said, motioned around the room, "The bathroom is just down the hall."

            Rory looked around in room in wonder.  It was so beautiful, just like she would have imagined an old English bedroom to look like.  There was a grand canopy bed in the center of the room, with a night stand beside it.  On the far side of the room there was a dresser, mirror, and makeup table.  Across from the bed was a grand fireplace, and to the right of that was a door leading out onto a balcony.  The room was decorated in deep burgundies and golds.  Rory sat her things down at the foot of the bed and turned to Jacqueline with a smile, "This is perfect, thank you so much.  You have no idea what it means to me, you letting me stay here."

            "It's a pleasure to have you here.  I've been dying for some company lately.  With the baby so close to being due, I really haven't been able to get out much.  Although," she said pausing, "I really don't know why you're here.  Tristan just mentioned that you would be staying with us for a while."

            "I'd be happy to explain, but it might take a while," Rory said.

            "I've got all afternoon.  Why don't we go down the salon, where we can talk."

            Rory nodded and followed Jacqueline back downstairs into the cozy little salon.   Jacqueline took a seat in a large armchair and motioned for Rory to sit wherever she liked.  Rory sat down on a plushy emerald green colored sofa, letting her tired muscles relax.  

            "Would you like some tea?"  Jacqueline asked.

            Rory smiled, "Actually, do you have any coffee?"

            Jacqueline smiled and nodded, quickly standing and walking out of the room.  She returned several minutes later, and handed Rory a steaming cup of coffee.

            Rory gratefully accepted the warm liquid, took a deep swallow, and felt instantly comforted.  She then took a deep breath and looked back up at her new friend, "I honestly don't know where to start."

            "Start at the very beginning," Jacqueline suggested softly.

            Rory nodded, "Almost ten years ago, a new boy showed up at the little town that I used to live in, Stars Hollow.  He changed everything.  He challenged all the ideas and feelings that I had always believed to be true, and basically turned my world upside down.  Almost everyone in the town disliked him instantly, except for, well, me.  It took me a while to realize it then, but looking back on it now, I honestly think I fell in love with him the very first time we met . . ."

            " . . . . And after I told Hayden that I couldn't marry him, I realized what a lie I had been living.  I'll never be able to get over Jess as long as I know that he's still out there . . . somewhere.  I decided that maybe I should broaden my searches, and that's how I ended up here.  I just can't give up . . . I have to find him," Rory concluded softly, about an hour later.  Rory was crying softly, but Jacqueline was out right sobbing.

            Jacqueline DuGrey's heart was breaking for Rory.  She had never heard a story so sad, and unfair.  She tried to imagine herself in Rory's position, and just couldn't.  She didn't know how Rory had managed to stay as strong as she had.  "Rory," she said quietly, reaching over and taking Rory's hands into her own, " I want you to know that Tristan and I will do anything we can to help you.  We'll find Jess."

            Rory looked into Jacqueline's gray eyes and knew that in that instant the two women had formed an unbreakable bond of friendship.  Rory knew without a doubt that Jacqueline somehow understood exactly what she was going through.   She smiled, grateful to have someone on her side. 

*****

            Later that evening Rory lay awake in the large guest bed.  Her eyes drifted over to the fireplace across the room where the last glowing embers were beginning to die out.  The room soon faded into complete darkness leaving Rory with an unexplainable knot in her stomach.  She wasn't afraid of the dark, but for some reason the inky blackness seemed to wash over her that evening, leaving her feeling strangely sad and alone.  She was exhausted, yet sleep did not come.

            She and Jacqueline had stayed talking for several more hours after Rory had recounted her entire story, although the discussion had been quite tiring for Rory.  Although she hated to admit it, telling Jacqueline all about Jess had left her feeling quite drained and depressed.  While she had been telling the story, the hopelessness of the situation had seemed to increase tenfold.  When she had first arrived in London she had been so optimistic and hopeful, but now, alone in the darkness of night, she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to find Jess again.

            Rory tried to fight the burning sensation in her eyes, but the tears were soon rolling silently down her cheeks.  She suddenly felt like a scared little child and had the incredible urge to just run to her Mom and curl up by her side.  Unfortunately, her Mother was an ocean away.  She glanced over at the telephone on the bed side table, and briefly considered phoning Lorelai.  She nibbled her lip uncertainly, but eventually decided against calling.  As tempting as it was, Rory really wasn't in the mood to talk.  She just wanted to be held and comforted.

            Rory's eyes suddenly fell on the door leading out to the balcony.  As if pulled by some hypnotic force, Rory felt herself climb out of bed and walk silently across the room to the door.  She reached out and grasped the doorknob, turning it slowly, half expecting it to be locked.  To her surprise the door swung open with ease and she was immediately met with a gust of harsh, cold air.  She glanced down at her raggedy oversized t-shirt and knew she should go back inside and find a robe.  Instead, however, she simply walked out onto the empty terrace, embracing the biting cold.  She walked over the balcony railing and grasped the cold metal with her numb fingers.  A light snow began to fall and the air was painful to breathe, and yet Rory welcomed it.  The fierce physical pain took the edge off her emotional suffering.

            Shivering silently, she peered over the balcony edge into the dark and desolate alley below.  The alley was seemingly deserted, but Rory's overactive imagination led  her to easily imagine gangs of wicked night crawlers, up to no good.  The gloomy street below her was strikingly similar to the scenes she had created in her head while reading numerous books.  Still staring over the edge, she noticed the rusty old fire escape stairs leading down into the alley she had determined to be dangerous and scary.  She frowned, not liking the idea of anyone being able to climb up and gain access to her little balcony.  The very idea set her heart to hammering.  A sudden darkness shadowed Rory, and she looked up to see a dark cloud moving to block out the bright and friendly moon.  The seemingly ominous event suddenly made a block of dread appear in the pit of her stomach.  She was slowly sending herself into a senseless mode of panic and paranoia.  She knew she was overacting, yet still couldn't wait to return to the safe confines of her bedroom.

            Merely seconds after Rory had had this thought, as if by some cruel and sick twist of irony, she heard the distinct rustle of footsteps behind her.  Her heart leapt into her throat and fear like she had never known enveloped her.  Rory resisted the urge to turn around and confront the intruder, and instead stayed where she was, pretending that she hadn't heard anything.  She quickly glanced back at the doors leading inside, judging the distance.  She quickly discarded the notion of running back inside however, not wanting to lead the villain into Tristan's home, where they could potentially harm Jacqueline or little Madison.  Her back was to the fire escape and she therefore had no means of escape.  She glanced back over the balcony and judged the distance to the fire escape landing that was just below where she was standing.

            Rory gripped the railing and took a deep breath.  She heard a low, sinister cackle directly behind her.  Without hesitation she flung herself over the railing, fear and adrenaline giving her extra strength, and let go.  A split second later she felt herself land on a hard, unyielding surface.  The force of the landing knocked the wind out of her, and a sharp pain shot up her arm.  She looked back up at where she had jumped from and had to fight back a scream when she saw a sick face staring back at her.  Quickly forgetting about her arm, she jumped up and ran down the rest of the stairs into the alley.  Not caring about her bare feet, she began running as fast as she could.  

            She came to the end of the alley and began fleeing down the dark and empty London street.  She glanced behind her, and was encouraged when she saw that she wasn't be chased.  Still, she ran until her legs gave out on her.  She finally stopped, breathing hard, and looked around.  A thick silence hung in the icy air and not a soul was to be seen.  Her whole body was shaking, although with fear, not cold.  After several minutes of nothing, she concluded that she had lost whoever had been after her.  

            She wasn't sure if she should try and go back to Tristan's house or not.  Turning slightly, she noticed that she had ended up right in front of a cozy little bed and breakfast - type Inn.  Making her decision she began walking towards the front door.  She figured she could just call someone from inside there.  

            However, she had barely taken two steps when she felt a strong hand wrap around her mouth, and another yank her up by the waist.  She let out a muffled scream and writhed frantically in her captor's arms.  The man removed his hand from her mouth, although before she could scream, she felt a sharp blow to her head.  She was able to hold onto consciousness for a split second, but it was useless.  She quickly slipped into a cold darkness, where no one could help her. . .

*****

_The next morning . . . _

            "Honey, can you get that?" Jacqueline called to Tristan when she heard the knock on the door.  It was around 10:30 in the morning, but it was a Saturday, so Tristan hadn't gone into work yet.

            "Yeah, I got it," He called back, jogging to the front door.  He swung it open, half wondering who on earth it could be.  They usually didn't get company on Saturday mornings.  He found himself face to face with a young man, probably about his age.  The man seemed strangely familiar, but for the life of him, Tristan didn't know who it was.

            "Can I help you?" he asked, a little uncertainly.

            "I, uh, hope so.  My name's Jess Mariano, are you Tristan DuGrey?" the man asked, holding his hand out.

            Just out of instinct Tristan reached out and shook Jess's hand, but his face held an expression of shock and surprise.

            Jess smiled, "I'm guessing Rory _is_ with you then?"

            "I, uh . . . yeah she is," Tristan stuttered.  He shook his head, pulling himself out of his stupor and smiling.  "She certainly is, come on in."

            Jess could barely keep the smile off his face as he followed Tristan DuGrey into the entrance of his huge ass house.  Rory was here. . . . really here.   After four years, he was finally going to be reunited with the woman he loved.

            "Who's there, Tristan?" a woman said, rounding the corner.  Jess glanced back between the pretty woman and Tristan with a curious expression on his face.

            "Jess, this is my wife, Jacqueline," Tristan introduced.

            "It's nice to meet you," he said with a genuine smile, strangely pleased to learn that Tristan was married.

            "_Jess_?" she asked, clearly shocked.

            He smirked and nodded.

            "Rory's Jess?" she asked again, still not believing.

            He nodded again, loving the sound of him being called 'Rory's Jess'.

            "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, clearly excited.  Jacqueline then turned to Tristan, "How did you find him so quick?"

            Tristan smiled, "I didn't find him.  He found us."

            Jacqueline shook her head, obviously confused.  "Oh well, you can explain later.  God, I can't wait to go wake Rory up!  Tristan, you take Jess into the salon.  I'll be right back down," Jacqueline said, a wide smile on her lips.  She then turned and disappeared up the staircase.

            Tristan nodded and motioned for Jess to follow him into the salon.  The two men had just taken a seat when Tristan suddenly smirked.  

            "I know where I've seen you before," he said grinning wickedly.  He laughed when he heard Jess groan.  "You were the guy who punched me at Rory's graduation!  I had a black eye for weeks!"

            Jess laughed, "Sorry man, but you wouldn't leave my girl alone.  I was a little hotheaded back then."

            "Yeah and I was a little -" Tristan was cut off by Jacqueline's scream.

            "Tristan!  Get up here now!"  The obvious alarm in Jacqueline's voice set both men running.

            Seconds later Tristan and Jess rushed into the guest room and were greeted by a white faced Jacqueline.

            "What's wrong?" Tristan demanded.

            "Rory's not here."

            "Well, honey, that's okay.  Don't panic.  She's probably in the bathroom or the kitchen or something.  Hell, knowing her she probably got up early and went to go get some coffee of something like that."

            Jess was nodding agreement but Jacqueline was violently shaking her head in denial.

            "No you don't understand.  When I came up, the room was freezing.  I immediately noticed that the balcony door was open and when I went out there, well you come look." she said, her voice shaking slightly.

            Tristan and Jess followed Jacqueline out onto the terrace.

            "Shit," Tristan muttered when he saw it.  A chair was knocked over and a potted tree had been tipped, spilling dirt all over the floor.

            "That's not all," Jacqueline said, pointing to something on the railing.

            Tristan walked over and immediately noticed what his wife was talking about.  Snagged on a broken piece of metal was a piece of cloth.  

            "Rory was wearing a red night shirt when I checked in with her last night before I went to bed," Jacqueline said softly.  The piece of cloth was red.

            No one said a word for a few minutes, letting the reality of the situation sink in.

            "Do you think she jumped?" Jacqueline asked when the silence became unbearable.

            "She must have, but she wouldn't have taken a flying leap for the hell of it. Someone must have been on the balcony with her at the time, and was probably blocking her exit."

            Jacqueline turned with fear filled eyes to Jess, who had up until then remained silent.

            "Who would do something like this?" he said finally, his voice deceptively low and emotionless.

            "I don't know!" Jacqueline cried, quickly becoming distraught.

            "I know who did it," Tristan said suddenly, his voice bold and clearly filled with violent anger.

            "Who?" Jacqueline asked.

            "Nicholas."

            "Tristan," Jacqueline warned, "I know you don't like him, but how can you possibly think . . ."

            "No, you don't understand.  You know how I got home extra late last night?" he said, pausing for his wife to nod agreement, "Well, the reason was because a lot of shit went down at the office yesterday evening, right before I was going to head out.  You know I've been suspecting that Nick has been filtering money out of the company forever.  Well, yesterday I got a little bit of information that really helped my case.  I really wasn't planning on approaching Dad about it yet, but I did go and talk to Nicholas. He pissed me off so bad though, that I did threaten to go to my father.  That's when he told me that if I did, he would do something to make me regret it.  Well, that really confirmed my suspicions, so right afterwards, I went to talk to Dad."

            "So you think he took Rory to get back at you?" Jacqueline asked.

            Tristan nodded.

            "I don't understand.  I mean, if he's really that sick and he really wanted to make you suffer, why didn't he attack me, or Maddie?  Why Rory?  Come to think of it, how did he even know about Rory?"

            Tristan shook his head, "I don't know.  I mean, he did interrupt yesterday when Rory was in my office, and I did mention that she was an old friend, but you _would_ think he would go after my wife or my daughter.  It doesn't matter.  He still has to be behind all of this.  It's too coincidental.  We've lived here almost 5 years and we haven't seen or heard of one robbery or break-in in that whole period of time," Tristan shook his head, and turned to Jess with a grave expression, "Well, man, it's kind of ironic.  Just yesterday I was searching to you.  Now, I'm looking for Rory . . . "

A/N: Well, there ya go.  Sorry it took so long to get out, but I am unfortunately back in school now, with all that fun work : ( Oh well, please review and let me know what you think.  Feedback at this point would really be helpful.  I've never attempted to write anything that could even possibly be considered "action" or "mystery" or anything like that, so I need to know if this really stinks! Haha Thanks : )


	6. Racing Hearts

Chapter Six: Racing Hearts

            **_She hated good-bye's.  The wind gently blew a stray strand of hair across her cheek.  He stepped forward to brush the hair away, and felt the moisture on her soft skin._

_            It was harder each time.  He consoled himself with the thought that soon, he wouldn't ever have to say "good-bye" again.  He smiled, and kissed her lightly.  He couldn't have known it would be the last time he would ever see her . . .**_

_*****_

Consciousness was slow to return to Rory.  When it did, though, she wished it hadn't.  She felt like every inch of her had been beaten.  She had felt like this once before in her life.  Fear gripped her heart, and for a split second, she thought she might have returned to the terrible rubble of the plane crash. 

                         Memories of the previous night quickly returned, however, and she had to shake her head at her own silliness.  No matter how awful her current situation might be, nothing could compare to the horrors of waking up in that rubble.  She winced as she was hit with a sudden flashback.

            ** _Rory could barely open her eyes.  She was vaguely aware of someone screaming.  She lifted her head up just enough to take a look at the destruction surrounding her.  The air was filled with a sickening scent, a mixture of smoke and blood.  Plane parts were scattered throughout the deserted field and small fires littered the landscape.  She noticed that she was lying beneath a large piece of the hull of the plane.  She wondered if that had shielded her so that the crash hadn't killed her.  Yet._

_            The screaming was growing louder.  Pain such as Rory had never experienced before was quickly spreading throughout her body.  She thought she might be dying.  She almost wished she was.  Faces suddenly began flashing throughout her mind.  Her Mom . . . her grandparents. . . Lane . . . Christopher . . . Luke . . . Jess.  What would happen to them if she died?  She couldn't die.  She just couldn't, she had to be strong._

_             Rory's eyes slowly focused on a piece of rubble a few feet from where she was lying.  Underneath that rubble was an hand.  A human hand, cut and bloody . . ._ _and without an arm._

_            It was then that Rory realized she was the one screaming_.**

            Rory fought back a whimper as she jerked herself back to reality.  She had never told anyone that she had been conscious for a brief while on the scene of the crash.  After she had passed out, it had been weeks before she had woken up again.  By that time Jess had been long gone, and her family had all thought she was dead.  She really wasn't sure why she had never told anyone about those brief moments when she had been lying in hell.  She guessed it was just two painful.  She could never bring herself to recount the horrifying memory.

            She slowly sat up, wincing as pain shot up her right arm.  She glanced down and noticed it was swelling.  Her head was throbbing and blood was slowly trickling down her temple.  Careful not to make a sound, she took in her surroundings.  She had been carelessly tossed on the dirty ground in a windowless room.  Other than a few rays of hazy light creeping in from the cracks in the roof, the room was completely dark.  She noticed a door across the room with a table sitting next to it.  There was a lamp on the table, but she didn't dare turn it on.  She had just recently heard the sound of footsteps rustling outside the room.  She held her breath when she heard voices.

            "God, you're a bloody imbecile.  Leave it to you to screw up the world's simplest assignment."

            "You cannot possibly blame me for this.  You said, "Get the girl," so I got the girl."

            "Yes, you fool, the wrong girl."

            "How was I supposed to know which girl you meant.  Maybe if you had paused long enough to give me some decent directions, I would have known what to do, but you were in such a bloody rage when you came storming in here -"

            "I was not in a bloody rage!  I was perfectly under control."

            "Like hell, you had just found out that DuGrey knew about your little scandal.  You were pissed, and scared, with good reason."

            "Well, that's under control now.  I have the files in my possession now, so DuGrey has absolutely no proof against me."

              "Then why the hell did you want to blackmail him by kidnaping his daughter?"

            "I didn't want to blackmail him, you idiot, I wanted to make the bloody bastard suffer.  However, if he had the files, then not only could he prove me guilty in filtering money from his damn company, he could also make me a prime suspect in the disappearance of his daughter.  I had it perfectly worked out.  I got the files, and you were supposed to get the girl.  He'd have nothing against me.  You, of course, blew the whole plan.   And, if you don't mind me asking, what were you thinking.  The woman in there is as old as Tristan himself.  How the hell could that be his daughter, you fool?!"

            "You did not say get his daughter!  You said, get the girl!  So I show up, climb up the fire escape, and bam!  there's a girl, standing right there on the balcony.  So, I got her.  It's not my fault you weren't specific enough.  Who is that woman anyway?  Is she his wife?"

            "No, Red, she isn't his wife.  His wife is pregnant.  I told you that.  The woman in there is not pregnant, if you hadn't noticed.  I met her yesterday at the office.  She's some friend of DuGrey's.  She must be staying with them for a while.  Damn, this has gotten complicated."

            Rory gasped from where she was lying in the other room.  She had thought the voice sounded familiar, but in her hazed state, she hadn't been able to place it.  So Nicholas was behind all this mess.  Thank God his dastardly partner had screwed up and gotten her and not little Madison.  Her thoughts were cut off when the conversation continued.

            "So what are we going to do?"

            "I'll tell you what we're going to do.  We're going to throw her in some back street alley and leave her.  _If_ she wakes up, then she'll just think she was mugged.  If not, then it's not my problem anymore."

            "What?!  We can't do that.  She knows who we are!"

            "Correction.  She knows who you are.  She saw you're face, not mine."

            "If she wakes up, she'll go straight to the cops!"

            "Once again, your problem not mine.  If you got caught it wouldn't be the greatest loss in the world.  An idiot like you would be easy to replace. . .  Where are you going?"

            "To the car."

            "Why?"

            Rory heard the thundering of footsteps as the two men retreated down the stairs.  She strained to hear the rest of the conversation but the voices faded until she couldn't hear a thing.  She sat back up, her mind racing.  She had to get out of there, and fast, before the two men returned.  She quickly jumped up and staggered to the door across the room.  Just as she reached out to turn the knob, she noticed a stack of papers in a manilla file sitting on the table, beneath the lamp.  

            Her heart hammered . . . the files.  Without thinking of the consequences she quickly grabbed the file and clutched it to her chest.  She opened the door and crept outside to the landing of the small apartment room.  She wasn't sure where she was, but she was sure it was a bad side of town.  She glanced down the stairs and listened for any sign of footsteps.  She didn't know how far up she was, and if she ran down the stairs now, she risked meeting her captors head on.  Maybe she should just stay in her room, pretend to be unconscious, and wait until they dumped her in some alley . . .  

            It was a risk she had to take.  Mustering up what courage she had left, she lightly ran down the steps.  It turned out she was only on the second story.  The stairs let out into a dusty garage, filled with old car parts.  Rory's eyes were scanning for an exit to the building when she heard the fateful sound of approaching footsteps.  She flung herself behind an old refrigerator that was near her, and held her breath.

            "What'd you get out of the car?" she heard Nicolas ask.

            "My gun."

            Nicholas let out a low whistle, "Are you sure you want to do that?"

            "It's better than your goddamn plan.  She's seen my bloody face!  I can't let risk her getting away and going to the cops."

            "Whatever, it's your decision," Nicholas said as the two men began rushing up the steps, "Just so long as you . . ."

            Once again, Rory strained, but couldn't hear the last part of Nicholas's comment.  She was let out her breath and realized she was shaking and covered in chill bumps.  She was still in her raggedy night shirt, but once again, the cold wasn't the cause of condition . . . fear was.  If she hadn't took the chance of trying to escape, she would have been murdered for certain.  Not wanting to stay in the suffocating garage a moment longer, Rory rushed out the door on the opposite side of the room, and fled out into the frigid street. 

******

            Nicholas King was vastly amused.  So his idiotic partner was going to murder the girl.  How nice.  He didn't really care what happened to the girl.  She was of no importance.  All the mattered was that he had the files.  He had actually been a little worried yesterday at the office when DuGrey had approached him with the damning evidence.  Still, however, he had managed to keep his cool, just like he always did.  He had waited until the perfect moment, and by being slick and clever, he had managed to steal the files.  DuGrey had nothing.  Then it was time to make the bastard suffer.  He had wanted to go after his daughter, but of course, Red had screwed that one up.  Still, all was not lost.  Of course, he couldn't go after the daughter just now.  No, two disappearances from the same house so close together would be too suspicious.  He would bide his time, wait for things to cool down a little, and then strike.  In fact, it was probably better this way.  Maybe he'd go for DuGrey's little infant once it was born . . .

            "Umm, Nick?   I think we have a little problem in here," he heard Red call, breaking into his thoughts.

            "What, you get cold feet?" Nicholas taunted as he walked into the room.  He stopped dead in his tracks.  The girl was gone. "Shit," he muttered.

            "Do you think she heard our conversation?" Red asked worriedly.

            "No, I don't, you fool.  If she had been in here when we were talking, how would she have made it out without us noticing?  We would have caught her coming back up the stairs.  No, she must have been long gone.  She probably woke up while we were out on our little errand, and split.  Oh well, too bad for you."

            Red looked sick.  He already had several felonies against him.  After his, he'd either spend the rest his life in hiding,or behind bars.  Nick was thoroughly enjoying himself.  Red suddenly looked up, a slow smile spreading across his face.

            "Why the hell are you smiling?  Don't you realize what this means for you?"

            "Actually, Nick, I think it's too bad for the both of us. . ."

            "What in the hell are you talking about . . ." Nicholas trailed off as he followed Red's line of vision to the table beside the doors.  He felt his heart constrict at the site of the empty table.

            "Dammit . . .the files . . .she took the bloody files!"

*****

            Jess was sick of waiting.  Bloody sick of waiting, as all the bloody Brits would say.  Tristan was off at the police station, and Jacqueline had taken their daughter and left for the country side earlier that morning.  She was going to stay with her aunt in uncle until the whole mess was cleared up.  Since Tristan was positive Nicholas King was behind Rory's disappearance as an attempt to get back at him, he assumed his wife and daughter were also at risk.  They were to stay in hiding as a means of protection.  And Jess was left to sit around waiting at the DuGrey mansion, just in case Rory or anyone else happened to call while Tristan was away.  Jess agreed someone should stay at the house in case there was a call, but he didn't want to be that person.  Sitting around doing nothing was making him go crazy.  He wanted to get out and go look for Rory.  He knew that he was thinking irrationally, but at least he would be doing _something_. 

            He wondered what he had ever done to make fate treat him so cruelly.  Sure he hadn't been the best kid in the world, but did he really deserve this?  No, he didn't, but more importantly, Rory didn't deserve this.  Rory was perfect, pure-hearted and wonderful.  She didn't deserve to be in a goddamn plane crash, and she didn't deserve to be kidnaped and . . . Jess couldn't finish his thought.  He had spent all day imagining what kinds of awful things the evil man who took Rory might do to her, to the point of making himself physically sick.

            He still couldn't believe he had been so close to being reunited with Rory, only to have her snatched away from him . . . again.  If he was a superstitious person, he would think he and Rory just weren't meant to be together.  But he didn't believe that, not for a minute.  He loved Rory Gilmore with everything in him.  She had taught him everything about life, and love, and happiness.  If any two people on earth were meant to be together, it was him and Rory.

            About that time the phone rang.  Jess was so surprised to hear it, he jumped involuntarily.  He figured it was Tristan calling from the police station.  He walked across the room to where the phone was sitting on the counter to answer it.

            "Hello?"

            "Hello?" came a confused and frightened voice from the other side.

            Jess's skipped a beat, "Rory?"

            "Who is this?"

            "Rory, are you alright?" he asked, purposely not telling her who it was.  He didn't have time to answer the questions she was bound to ask if he revealed his identity.  Not to mention the shock it would cause her.  She needed to be on her toes, wherever she was.

            "Yes . . .I think . . I just didn't know what to . . ." she broke off, her sobs coming in gasps.

            "Rory, listen to me, it's going to be okay.  Just tell me where you are," he was having trouble controlling his own voice.  So many emotions were rushing through him he could barely control them.  Fear that Rory was still in danger.  Sadness over the fear and despair he could hear in her own voice.  And shock . . . this was the first time he'd spoken to her in four years.

            "I don't know . . . some alley . . . there's a restaurant . . . it says "Joe's" on it . . . your voice . . . it sounds so . . ."

            "Hush, it's going to be okay.  Try and tell me more about where you are," Jess said, wondering what he should do.  Should he try and keep her on the phone as long as possible, or should he hang up and call the police station, or should he go and try and find her himself?

            "I think . . . who . . . oh my God."

            "Rory, what is it?" Jess asked, his heart nearly stopping.

            "Jess."

A/N: Alright, I suck.  I cannot believe it took me so long to get this chapter out.  School has been a true bitch lately and this is honestly the first break I've gotten that I haven't wanted to spend sleeping.  Hopefully I'll be able to update more often now.  I hope you vaguely remember reading this story, I know it's been forever.  I hope this chapter wasn't too bad . . . I have been out of the writing loop for a while.  Well, please, please, please review and hopefully you'll be getting another update soon!


	7. Suffering

A/N: Hey everybody!  I just wanted to let ya know that I upped the rating on this story due to some cursing in this chapter, and some other things that will most likely occur in later chapters (wink, wink).  I apologize if it offends anyone.

Chapter Seven: Suffering

            _** His heart hammered with a mixture of fear and excitement.  A clear breeze blew and the sun glinted off the diamonds in the window._

_            Five hundred miles away, she was thinking of him.**_

*****

            Every criminal has a flaw.  One simple imperfection, that despite all of their evil brilliance, will eventually lead to their downfall.  For some, it's the wild thirst for power that causes them to act carelessly.  For others, it's the dissatisfaction that comes from pulling off a ingenious plan flawlessly, and not being able to tell anyone.  For Nicholas King, it was his sick and unquenchable lust for suffering.   

            Though his mind may have been twisted, it was still brilliant.  Nick could come up with unimaginable schemes and execute them without a single complication.  He could outwit his family, his co-workers, and the law every time.  And he knew it.  The only problem was, it was never enough.  For Nick, it was nothing more than a simple game.  It wasn't thrilling anymore . . . it was never satisfying.  He was wanted more.  He wanted pain . . . he wanted suffering.

            Human suffering had fascinated Nick ever since he was a child.  The agony that would be alive in their eyes . . . the helplessness and horror that would be written all across their faces.  And not just physical suffering, for in Nick's way of thinking, physical pain was a poor excuse for true suffering.  When a person would cry out in physical agony, it was just a sign of weakness and cowardice.  Not that it wasn't amusing, because it was.  It's just that emotional suffering was so much better.  Nick wanted to attack the heart.  

            He knew that this affliction was dangerous.  He was even practical enough to admit that it might eventually lead to a fatal mistake.  But that wasn't important now.  He wouldn't make a mistake this time . . .

*****

            "Jess."

            Rory couldn't breathe.  How could it be possible?  How could she be speaking to Jess . . . her Jess?  It simply couldn't be.  And yet, she was certain it was.  The minute she had heard his voice come across the line it had reached something deep inside of her.  Some distant memory that she had locked away because it was too painful . . . too hauntingly bittersweet.

            It was Jess's voice.  That deep and husky voice that always seemed to mock you with it's air of mystery.  That voice that seemed to reflect Jess's carefree and smartass attitude.  That voice that had always intrigued Rory . . . always sent chills down her back and made butterflies dance in her stomach.  That voice that had always held something deeper . . . some wild and untamed passion . . . and love, meant only for her.

            "Rory, I-"Jess stopped, not trusting his voice.

            "Jess," she sobbed across the line, "What are you doing here?  Is it really you?"

            "Yeah," he drawled out, "It's really me."

            "But I don't understand!" Rory cried out, frustrated.  Nothing was making sense.  First she had been abducted on her balcony and drug halfway across town to the seediest part of London, and now she was calling Tristan's house to get help and who should answer the phone, but the one person she had come to London to find?  Maybe that lump on her head was affecting her more than she had originally thought.  She did have an incredible headache.

            "Listen, Rory, it's not important.  I promise I'll explain everything once you're safe.  Now try and tell me where you are."

            Rory bit her lip, "Well, it's not a good part of London, I can tell you that.  There's a sign on the street that says 'North Hill Avenue'.  Other than that, I don't know.  There's not really anything here other than that Joe's restaurant and a bunch of shabby buildings."

            "Okay," Jess said, busily trying to write down everything Rory was telling him on a pad of paper, "Listen, Rory, I want you to stay on this line.  I'm going to go find my cell phone and call Tristan at the police station.  Don't hang up."

            "Jess, wait," Rory cried, "I don't think that's going to work."

            "Why not?"

            "Because, this payphone wants more money, and I'm out of coins."

            "Dammit," he cursed, "Well, it's okay, just stay where you are.  Wait, why don't you try and go wait in that restaurant you were talking about, and get off the street.  Just hang on, Rory, we'll get down there as soon as possible."

            "Wait, Jess, before you hang up," Rory said, suddenly breathless.

            "Yeah?"

            "I . . .do you . . . Do you still love me?"

            Jess's breath caught in his throat, "With all my heart."

*****

            As soon as Rory hung up the phone, she was hit with a wave of dizziness.  She stumbled and doubled over with a surge of nausea.  She squeezed her eyes closed tightly and tiny beads of perspiration began dotting her forehead.  She was suddenly afraid she was going to pass out again.  She struggled to the side of the alley she was standing in, and slumped down against the wall.  She held her throbbing head in her hands and waited for the sickness to pass.

            A few minutes later, the feeling passed, and Rory struggled to stand back up.  She gently massaged the swollen lump on her head and realized that she probably had a concussion.  Just then a sharp gust of icy wind ripped through the alley, causing her to start shaking in her raggedy night shirt.  Alone and scared, Rory moaned a little, fighting back tears.

            She glanced back at the payphone and suddenly wished she could hear Jess's voice again.  She had been so scared when she had called, and yet, he had been able to comfort her.  And when he had told her that he still loved her, for the first time in forever, she had begun to feel a small stirring of hope and happiness deep within her heart.  She shook her head, and forced her thoughts away from Jess.  She had to stay focused.  She still wasn't out of danger.

            Rory suddenly remembered the files that she had thrown down when she had reached the phone.  She bent down and picked them up, a frown crossing her face.  She hadn't been thinking clearly when she grabbed the files, and she now realized how stupid it had been to take them.  Whenever Nicholas and his accomplice saw that they were gone, they would be certain that she knew about their scandal.  Then they would come after her.

            Whimpering, she ran to the far side of the alley where she saw a boarded up window.  There was a crack at the bottom, and with only a brief pause, Rory shoved the files through the window and let go.  She waited a few seconds and heard a thud.  Nodding with satisfaction, she turned back to the street.  She remembered Jess's instruction to go and wait in the restaurant.  She started to walk that way, but then stopped.  'Joe's' was a rough looking place, and Rory was nervous about going in there.  Nibbling on her lower lip, she decided to wait outside until the police came to get her.

*****

            They must have just missed her.  Nicholas honestly didn't know how the hell she had escaped without them noticing.  One thing was for sure, though, she hadn't been gone long.  Her footsteps were still fresh in the snow.

            Finding her was easy.  She had only made it about a mile before she had stopped in an alley on North Hill Street.  She had been stupid enough to stay outside, waiting in the street.  Nick noticed the phone behind her and guessed she had called for help.  He didn't know how much time he had, so he decided to move quickly.  He already had a plan in mind, and his heart was thumping in anticipation.  He couldn't wait to see the anguish he was sure to cause her.

            "Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to leave without saying good-bye?"  Nicholas chirped smoothly, stepping out of the shadows.

            Rory jumped and looked back at him.  The fear was evident in her gaze, but she held her ground bravely.  "No, actually, my mother told me not to keep company with filthy animals," she sneered.

            Nicholas smirked, impressed.  He had noticed her wild and untamed spirit the day before at the office.  It had appealed to him then, and it still did now.  It was a crying shame he was going to have to kill her.  He let out a low laugh, thoroughly enjoying himself.  Thank god he had decided to eavesdrop on Miss Gilmore's conversation with Tristan the day before at the office.  It was going to make getting her to cooperate so much easier.            

            "Well, Miss Gilmore if my company offends you so, why don't you just give back what belongs to me and you can get on your way."

            Rory let out an inelegant snort, "Do I really look that stupid?  Why should I give you back the damn files.  I know you're going to kill me.  There's no use even playing dumb.  If you thought that I was still ignorant as to your little scandal, then you wouldn't have shown me your face here.  You obviously realize that I know everything, and you're going to try and silence me."

            "Very good, Rory.  It's a shame really, I don't like killing.  It's too messy, and in your case, it's just a waste.  But, oh well, it can't be helped.  You're forgetting something, though.  I still need the files.  You might as well give them to me, Rory, you're just prolonging the inevitable."

            "Yes, but why would I want to make your job any easier?" Rory sneered.

            "Because, if you do, then I won't hurt your lover."

            Rory froze, and slowly looked back up at Nicholas.  She did her best to keep her face emotionless.  "I don't know what you're talking about."

            Nick laughed, "There's no use trying to hide it, Rory.  Tristan told me all about why you came to London yesterday, after you left the office.  What was his name . . . what was it . . . ah yes, Jess?  Well, what you don't know is that Tristan already found him.  Just a stroke of luck, really.  He ran a few searches before going home, and it turned out that your little boyfriend is working at an associate firm right here in the city.  You were already asleep by the time Tristan got home, though, so he decided to put the reunion off until today.  Of course, that didn't work out for obvious reasons."  Nick told the lie smoothly, loving the shock that crossed the girl's face while he spoke.  Ah yes, she must love the man very much to come all the way to search for him.  She was incredibly naive, though, to really think she would find him.  Nick had gotten a good laugh out of listening to her tell the story yesterday afternoon.  

            Rory was panicking.  She couldn't let Nicholas hurt Jess, and she was certain that he would do just that.  And, oh god, but Jess was probably on his way right now.  Desperate to protect him she blurted out, "Well, you're wrong about one thing, Nicholas.  I already knew about Jess.  In fact, I just got off the phone with him.  He was the one who answered when I called Tristan's house.  He's going to call the police, and they'll probably be here any minute.  Jess won't be with them, though.  I . . . I was wrong about Jess.  It's been four years, and he's moved on.  He doesn't love me anymore.  He just came to Tristan's house to see me courtesy of all the trouble I went through to find him."  Rory was surprised how easily the lie came.  She usually wasn't good at lying, but she supposed fear gave her added strength.  It was imperative that Nicholas believe there was nothing left between Jess and Rory, otherwise he would use one to get to the other.

            Nicholas carefully watched the girl.  She had to be lying.  There was no way that man could have been at Tristan's house.  But yet, there was something odd about the way she hadn't doubted him when he told her that Jess had been found.  If she was as smart as she seemed, she should have at least been suspicious.  And yet, she accepted what he had told her without a second thought.

            The sound of sirens cut through his thoughts.  He had taken too long.  "Dammit," he cursed.  He couldn't kill her yet, because he still didn't know where the files were.  Not thinking twice, he moved quickly.  He kicked the girl in the gut, causing her to double over in pain.  He grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it around her mouth.  Throwing her over his shoulder, Nicholas ran out of the alley.

*****

            They had ordered him to stay at the house.  Jess couldn't believe it.  The British police had actually _ordered_ him not to interfere with their rescue of Rory.  They had said that they wanted him to stay at Tristan's house just in case Rory called back, but Jess knew that they real reason was that they didn't want him getting in the way.  The only saving grace was that they had apparently ordered Tristan to stay at the police station too.

            "Damn Brits," Jess muttered.  He hated taking orders.  Especially from the law, and especially from the law in another fucking country!  He knew he was overreacting, but when it came to Rory, he couldn't help it.  She had always caused him to think irrationally, from the very day he had met her.

            When Jess couldn't take the silence of the house for another minute, he stood up to get his coat.  He decided to go down to the police station.  That would most likely be where they brought Rory once they found her, and he wanted to be there.  Just as he was about to leave, though,  the phone rang again.

            "Shit," he said under his breath.  He ran back into the living room and picked up the phone.

            "Hello?"

            Silence

            "Hello?"

            There was still silence.

            "I can here you breathing.  I know there's someone there.  Rory, is that you?"

            "Who is this?" came a deep voice from the other side.

            "Who is this?" Jess shot back.

            "If you ever want to see the girl alive again, tell me who this is."

            Jess stopped breathing.  His heart was pounding and he could barely speak, "This is Jess."

            There came a cruel laugh from the other side.

            "I swear to God, if you hurt her, I will find you.  I will hunt you down to the end of the earth and I will fucking kill you."

            "Come to the apartment complex on Lex Street on the West side of town.  Go to the back and climb up the stairs and find room 378.  Come alone."

            With that, the line went dead.

            "Shit!" Jess yelled, slamming his fist against the counter.  He knew it would be incredibly stupid to go to that apartment alone, but he didn't care.  The last time he had tried to do the right thing, he had gotten ordered to stay out.  He wasn't going to involve the police again.  Without a backwards glance, he ran out of the house.

*****

            Rory was back in the same room she had been in earlier that day.  Only this time, the door was locked.  Nicholas had dumped her there about an hour earlier, and she had been alone ever since.  She cursed herself for getting caught again.  How stupid could she have been to think that they wouldn't be able to track her footprints in the snow.  And why hadn't she just gone into the restaurant to wait like Jess had told her?  It seemed like the only thing she had done right was to throw the stupid files away.

            The doorknob suddenly began to turn.  Rory sat up straight and her heart began to hammer.  The door opened and Nicholas walked in.  He looked incredibly smug.

            "Well, Rory, you'll never guess who my friend Red just got off the phone with."

            Rory stubbornly remained silent.

            "Why, it was Jess.  You know, the man who supposedly doesn't care about you anymore?  Oh, and by the way, I think you were mistaken about that.  Why, he even threatened to hunt Red down and kill him if he harmed you.  How sweet, don't you think?"

            Rory glanced down at the ground, refusing to let Nicholas see the panic and pain that was flashing through her eyes.

            "You know what's really funny, Rory?  I never knew that Jess had actually been found.  I just made that up to get you to cooperate.  You're the one who told me about him.  You're the one who sealed his fate," Nick's voice had become a low whisper.

            Rory couldn't stand it anymore.  She glanced up at Nicholas, praying that it wasn't true.  He slowly nodded.  "No!" she screamed.

            "Yes," he said slowly, "That's why we called, for confirmation.  Oh, that and to tell him where to come to find you.  We told him to come alone."

            Rory was crying and shaking her head, "You can't possibly think Jess will be stupid enough to come here without backup.  You're going to get caught!"

            Nicholas laughed, "Who said I told him to come here?  I told him to go somewhere completely different.  Red's waiting for him there.  And you're right, he probably won't come alone.  But Red will be the one to get caught, not me.  Of course, it will already be too late for your little boyfriend by then."

            "Why are you doing this?" Rory cried out.

            "Because I want to see you suffer," he hissed.

            Rory was suddenly filled with loathing for that man in front of her.  The man who would filter thousands of dollars from a company.  The man who would try to kidnap an innocent little girl.  The man who was ready and willing to murder her.  The man who was going to murder Jess for the sole purpose of causing her pain.

            "Take me to Jess," she said coldly.

            "Why would I want to do that?  Surely you don't want to watch him die?"

            "Take me to him, or I swear I will never tell you where the files are.  Never.  And trust me, it's only a matter of time before someone finds where I left them and your secret will be out."

            Nicholas looked at her, anger crossing his face.  He reached out and slapped her.  Rory winced, but refused to make a sound.

            "You'll pay for this girl.  I'll make you wish you had been more cooperative," he muttered as he grabbed some cloth and blindfolded her.  He grabbed her hand and roughly pulled her down the stairs and threw her into the back of a car.  Rory felt the car start up and begin moving.  She stayed deathly silent for the long, long ride.   

            She eventually felt Nicholas park the car and get out.  She was suddenly being yanked up again and dragged up another flight of stairs.  She heard a door open, and was shoved inside.  Nicholas ripped her blindfold off and yelled, "Is this what you wanted to see?"

            Rory felt her heart break.  Jess was crumpled against a far wall.  From where she was standing she could see the blood trickling down his forehead.  "Jess!" she screamed.  She broke free of the hold Nicholas had on her and ran to him.  She fell to her knees beside him and pulled him into her arms.  She studied him closely and let out a blessed sigh of relief when heard him breathe.  He wasn't dead . . . yet.

            Rory looked back at Nicholas.  He was looking at her with a wicked expression on his face.  She knew he would get great pleasure out of killing Jess and making her watch.  She had to do something.

            "Alright, you took me to Jess," she whispered softly, "I'll tell you where the files are.  I gave them to a man who was driving down the street.  I told him to drop them off behind the police station."

            Nicholas cursed under his breath.  Killing the girl would have to wait.  He had to hurry before someone found the goddamn files.  "There now, that wasn't so hard, was it?  You just wait here now, I'll be back, " he sneered at her, with an expression of scorn on his face.  Nick slammed the door.  Rory heard the jingle of keys in the door and knew he was locking them in.  She held her breath while she listened to the sound of his retreating footsteps.  Once she was certain he was gone she let out a strangled sob.

            Rory looked down at Jess and began to softly stroke his hair.  It was all her fault this had happened to him.  God, what was she going to do?  As soon as Nicholas figured out she had lied about the files he was going to be furious.  He would kill them both without a second thought.  Hell, he was going to kill them no matter what.

            She sighed and pulled Jess closer to her.  At least she was finally with him.  No matter what happened, she wasn't alone anymore.  They would get through this together.

A/N: Well, what did you think?  I hope that chapter wasn't too confusing, but if you do have any questions feel free to email me ( GOTOBUTTON BM_1_ CwGrlCutie587@yahoo.com) and I'll be happy to clear anything up I can.  Thank you sooo much to everyone who reviewed, and please, please keep them coming.  I really need advice right now as to how this story is progressing.  I pretty much wrote this entire chapter on writer's block and I need to know if you hated it!  Well, thanks to everyone who's sticking with this story and I'll try to get the next chapter out as quickly as I can. Oh, and don't worry, the long awaited literati action will definitely be coming next chapter! ; )


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